It is known in the art that a battery is a device for storing chemical energy and converting that chemical energy into electricity. The battery generally includes one or more electrochemical cells, each of which consists of two half-cells or electrodes. One half-cell, called the negative electrode, has an overabundance of the tiny, negatively charged subatomic particles called electrons. The other, called the positive electrode, has a deficit of electrons. When the two halves are connected by a wire or an electrical cable, electrons will flow from the negative electrode to the positive electrode.
Many kinds of batteries are known in the market, depending on multiple design factors such as the output voltage, the output current, the chemical components comprised in the battery, and other diverse factors. For instance, an automotive battery is a type of rechargeable battery that supplies about 12 volts of electrical energy to an automobile vehicle. Automotive batteries are made up of one or more electrochemical cells, each having the capacity to convert chemical energy into a more readily usable form of electrical energy. Automotive batteries are widely employed in many industries and vehicles, including starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) batteries capable of starting the internal combustion engines of various vehicles, such as cars, trucks, motorcycles, and boats.
Generally, automotive batteries and other batteries are provided with external positive and negative terminals to which the automobile electrical system is connected in order to receive electrical power from the battery. Normally, battery terminals are prepared for coupling a single electrical wire or connector. Battery terminals generally take the form of threaded or unthreaded posts protruding outwardly from an outer surface of the battery. The electrical wire can be coupled to the battery terminal by threading, clipping, or looping an end of the wire or an end connector carried by the wire to the battery terminal.
The vehicle or electrical device feeding from the battery can include one or more electrical outlets to which additional electrical devices can connect ad through which the additional electrical devices can indirectly receive electrical power from the battery.
Conventional methods and devices for powering additional portable electrical devices into an automobile can overwhelm the terminal connections on a typical automobile battery. For example, there are physical limitations for a motorcycle, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, or off-road vehicle to plug in a cell phone. With a factory installed cigarette lighter socket, one appliance can be plugged in, but with multiple devices access to the battery may be restricted. Additionally, there are instances when a multiplicity of external electrical devices requires a connection to a same automotive battery. A conventional automotive battery terminal does not normally have the capacity to provide a direct electrical interface to more than one device or electrical system.
In addition, battery compartments (i.e., compartment on a boat, or hood compartment of a vehicle) often limit access and the ability to connect multiple electronic devices to a battery. Thus, one must often remove a battery from the compartment to an open space in order to manipulate the electrical connections to the battery terminals.
What is desired is a battery terminal adapter that forms an electrically conductive and mechanically robust connection between a battery terminal and more than one electrical cable, and that is convenient to manipulate in the event of the battery being installed in a reduced space.